solids

[Anonymous]

okay..i know every first time mom is probably really anxious to start solids-its prob really exciting!

i just need some feedback on the whole starting solids thing. i
honestly think 4 months is too young for many babies…..especially
ones like Trace with severed GERD and MSPI.

so when is the best time to start solids and what kinds of foods should i start with that wont upset his sensitive system?

he is approaching 4 months and sometimes i get jealous of all the moms
with “normal” babies that get to start solids at that age! i know the
best thing for him would be to wait, i just dont know for how
long….???

im going to ask the GI this, but the appt isnt till Oct 12th!!

[Anonymous]

Hi!
Actually, sometimes starting solids can actually help reflux, because it kinda weighs down the stomach, but it depends on the child. (It didn’t really help my son’s reflux). Five to six months is a good time to start solids. I always start with rice cereal (mixed with formula/breastmilk). Rice is very mild and easy to digest. If they do fine with that, then I start trialing the other mild cereals (oatmeal, barely). At six months you can start trialing veggies and fruits. Just try to avoid foods with any acid. I’ve heard apples are bad for some reflux babies. Bananas are really good. They kind of weigh things down too. Sorry, I don’t know anything about MSPI, so I’m not sure what they can and can’t eat with that. Anyway! I hope that helps.

Bryce’sMom2006-9-4 21:56:33

[hellbennt]

the signs i was told to watch for were:

the ability to sit, stabily, upright

to reach & grab objects

to bring objects to mouth

& i can’t remember the rest, probably the ‘non-thrusting tongue’ reflex they outgrow…

gerdlings tend to have an immature digestive system, so a lot of parents wait until at least 6 months…

When/How do I Start Solids?: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2760&a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;KW=solids

Chart for sequence of introducing solids to the allergic child (GERDlings oftentimes seem to be just as ‘sensitive’ as ‘allergic’ babies): http://www.hallpublications.com/title2_sample2.html

[Anonymous]

We waited until 6 months but when we did start we just went with cereal. At least he was learning to swallow and eat things off a spoon or so we thought. Colt had severe gag reflex and we had to put off solids until 9 months. Well at 9 months it was still bad and we waited until a year. Thank God at a year he had developed enough to swallow without vomitting every time. So I really thinks its different for every baby. Don’t be afraid to start something like cereal. I know you are already putting it in his bottles so he should be able to tolerate it. I wish you all the luck because this is a very sensitive subject for moms who have had a hard time feeding their little ones.

[Anonymous]

Natalia, isn’t Trace getting cereal in his bottles already? If you want to practice with the spoon you can try feeding him a little bit of the cereal with the spoon, but he’ll likely push it out right now. I would wait until he’s closer to six months to try any other solids. Don’t be jealous of the moms who start earlier……later is really better even for non-refluxers. Many moms rush into it because they think the baby will sleep longer or just because they think it will be fun and the baby will love it, but babies really don’t need anything but formula or breast milk for the first year.

Kathleen, When was Colt able to eat finger foods? Myles also has a very strong gag reflex and can only eat purees and puffy/dissolve type foods. It worries me. Did Colt learn to eat finger foods on his own or did he need some kind of feeding therapy? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I honestly would wait until at least 6 months. The WHO doesn’t even recommend doing it before then anymore, so don’t worry about feeling pressured into it. I would especially hold off since he was doing so much worse before you made the switch to neocate. That probably means that his system is still so sensitive, and if he’s reacting to the proteins even in alimentum, it might be better to hold off until his system is a bit more mature. We were pressured into starting solids for Hailey at 4 months. I waited until 5.5, and even then, it was way too soon for her. Things started off well initially, but the solids made the reflux WAY worse and not better, and after a few weeks, she started to refuse solids as well as bottles. I think that many refluxers are slower at getting used to solids, and so I think it’s best not to push them. Wait until you think he has the most chance for success. Starting early, doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll get the hang of it early…. sometimes if you start too soon, especially with a refluxer whose not ready, it can cause an aversion. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

With Kaelyn we started around 5 months. She’d already had cereal in her bottles since she was 5 weeks old. Since then, I’ve read several articles about triggering allergies by starting solids too early, so I’m planning to wait until Alex is 6 months old to start. With all of Kaelyn’s allergy issues, I don’t want to cause any for Alex.

[Anonymous]

I’m really glad you posted this question because I have been feeling “pressured” by Sarah’s daycare provider to start her on solids. Every day when I pick her up the sitter tells me how much she LOVES eating her rice cereal and how she’s “SOOO READY” to start other foods. She wanted me to start bringing in other solids. I don’t want to yet – for the exact reasons that everyone has stated above. I have started giving her rice cereal with a spoon and she takes it really well. I then found out that daycare was mixing applesauce with her rice cereal and I was a little upset! I understand that she loves it and has all the ‘characteristics’ of babies who are ready…but why rush? Sarah is 4.5 months old and I want to wait at least another month before introducing anything else. She is getting rice cereal still once a day at daycare (minus the applesauce now!) so I don’t feed her anymore of it when we get home. I think once a day is plenty at this point, don’t you?

It is really fun to give her the rice with a spoon though…she smiles and laughs…so I think you could try giving Trace a little and it wouldn’t hurt since he gets it in his bottles. I considered it “practice” with Sarah. It is also giving her a chance to get used to her highchair.

[Anonymous]

If you do start, I would start slow. Sebastian was VERY eager to start eating at just over four months. We did oatmeal and he did fine on that. He has had a lot of problems with many of the sloids that we have tried.

He is still having issues at nine months. It is hard because he wants to try everything that we have and he can’t. Just try not to compare him to other babies and do what works best for him.

I hope all goes well when you do decide to start.

[Anonymous]

We started with cereal at 4 months, she wasnt really ready yet. So we started trying again around 5 months when she was very interested in our food. The only thing I have found was that applesauce seemed to make her spit up more. She loves sweet potatoes, squash and green peas. Doesnt like the fruits as much. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

since Trace gets rice in his bottles, i did try spoon feeding it to him the other day. i tried about 20 min before he would want his bottle, i wanst really sure when to give it. he made this face like he was disgusted and spit it out. but then again he does the same thing when i try to give him the bottle and he isnt hungry yet. so basically, should i try spoon feeding cereal when he is really hungry?? i just thought that would make him mad if he was super hungry and used to the bottle.

nataliachick72006-9-14 21:5:32

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I’ve heard that spoon feeding when they’re starving only makes them frustrated. I read to give an ounce or two of a bottle to satisfy them a little bit and then spoon feed. I usually end up finishing the rest of the bottle with Sarah after she’s done playing with her cereal. Notice I say playing and not eating! Sooo frustrating sometimes, but also part of the fun. Now she spits it out and smiles at me real big.

I’m glad you tried though. Don’t give up yet!!! It’s still hard for me to judge how much she needs to be full…I never know if she’ll be screaming for a bottle 5 minutes later or 5 hours later! Live and learn I guess!

Amy

[Anonymous]

I started Aidan at 4 months, but had to stop and re-start at 5 months, he’s now 9 1/2 months old and on table food, and some purees. At first there were foods he HAD to avoid bananas (they put citric acid in them as a preservative and his reflux went nuts), carrots and most fruits, but when his reflux began getting under control, I mean pain wise, he still refluxes every once in a while but isn’t in pain anymore, I found he could eat whatever. Even though he doesn’t have any teeth the kid eats like an adult, this morning he had pancakes!

[Anonymous]

i have started my daughter on some solids now as the dr said it might help.

the problem is she will eat a bit then starts gagging and pulling a funny face with every mouth full

it seems to make her reflux worse, i think maybe i got to excited and started with too many flavours in a short time? also i think shewill need to have it quite thin for a while.

it deoesn’t help that her reflux is not under control pain wise so i think i might put a hold on them until we find a med that works

[Anonymous]

Natalia, Kaelyn did the same thing with cereal when we tried to give it to her on a spoon. It was almost as if she knew that it tasted like her bottle and she would just rather that we give her a bottle. She never really took to eating cereal. I just started trying other solids. She did better with those, but she was probably nine months old before she’d eat more than 2 oz of solids at a sitting.

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